Guards die in attack on S Korean embassy in Libya

Seoul considering evacuating all employees from Libya after dozens of rounds strike diplomatic compound in Tripoli.

12 Apr 2015 11:31 GMT

Tripoli, Libya

Unidentified attackers targeted South Korea's embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli, killing two security guards, according to the foreign ministry in Seoul.

The attackers fired dozens of rounds at the embassy compound from a passing vehicle on Sunday, leaving two Libyan guards dead and another injured, the ministry said.

Three South Koreans working in the embassy - including two diplomats - were unhurt, a ministry official told AFP news agency on condition of anonymity.

"We do not know whether the attack targeted the embassy or the Libyan [security] officers," the South Korean official said, adding that the ministry was considering evacuating all its staffers from Libya.

Armed groups which fought to topple Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011 often carry out kidnappings or attacks targeting foreign diplomats in Tripoli.

The country has been awash with weapons since the end of the uprising that killed Gaddafi and has been gripped by increasing lawlessness.

Sunday's embassy attack in Tripoli occurred a day after at least nine people were killed and dozens more were injured in renewed clashes between Al-Shura Council fighters and General Khalifa Haftar's forces west of Benghazi.

Saturday's clashes erupted when Haftar's forces advanced towards the area controlled by Al-Shura Council fighters in the Mediterranean city's al-Hawari area.

Haftar, the newly appointed commander of Libya's armed forces, announced on Friday in a press statement that the Libyan armed forces were completing preparations to begin the liberation of Benghazi.

Al-Shura Council is made up of several brigades including Ansar al-Sharia - an offshoot of al-Qaeda - and Libya Shield, some of which are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Misrata.